FSSAI Gives 90 Days to Beverage Firms to Remove ‘Energy Drink’ Label

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has given beverage companies 90 days to comply with its directive to remove the term “Energy Drink” from product branding and labelling, according to sources.

The order affects six major brands Red Bull Energy Drink, PepsiCo’s Adrenaline Rush Energy Drink, Reliance Consumer Products’ Campa Energy Drink–Gold Boost, Sting Energy Drink, Hell Energy and Coca-Cola-backed Monster Energy.

FSSAI had issued notices to the companies on July 1, stating that it had not notified any specific standard for the “Energy Drink” category. The regulator said the products were being marketed using descriptors such as “energy drink” on their packaging, while the Food Category System under FSSAI regulations was not intended to be used for product naming or labelling.

The development follows a meeting between leading beverage companies, represented by the Indian Beverage Association (IBA), and FSSAI CEO and senior officials last Friday. Food safety officials from states including Maharashtra and Gujarat also attended the meeting.

According to sources, the industry requested additional time to implement the directive, citing the need to arrange new packaging materials. However, the regulator did not offer any further relief and instead provided a 90-day compliance window. The exact effective date for implementation remains unclear.

FSSAI has also cautioned that functional or therapeutic claims such as “vitalises body and mind,” “enhancing focus” and “boost energy levels” are not permissible for food products under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and related regulations.

Separately, FSSAI has suspended the licence of Westend Agro Products Pvt Ltd following serious violations detected during an inspection. The regulator said several products were found with allegedly altered manufacturing and expiry dates, batch numbers and misleading label declarations. It also reported fraudulent relabelling and found that Westend Agro Products and Westend Corporation were operating from the same premises.